Where You Wander
by JustBFree
Summary: Alternate Version of X3, focused on Magneto and Mystique
1. Chapter 1

A sharp wave of searing pain soared through her body, stemming from the pinprick of the injection needle in her chest. Eyes rolled back, knees buckled, and three men watched helplessly as she writhed and convulsed in agony.Her bright colorsvanished; a beautiful woman emerged before them, naked and trembling on the floor.

Eric felt sick to his stomach. He watched Mystique disappear, reborn a complete stranger. She was gone; he'd known it the instant she'd fallen. Since they'd heard the rumors of a proposed cure, he'd ordered her to gain every last piece of information available. This solider had fought for him in the past, taken injuries for him, given her body for him…

They had never seen a mutant injected with the cure before, Mystique was perhaps the first. Eric's eyes never left hers. For the first time in many, many years, she cowered before him, shielding her body. Her legs folded to protect her sex, a hand rose to cover pale breasts.

"You saved me,"

She heard Eric's voice and she could see themingling pity and disgust in his eyes. He was weighing his options, deciding what to do with her now that she was no more than a pathetic liability. She trembled under his intense gaze; turning away from him, she instead looked down at her long, pale body. Bile rose to her throat just as tears rose to her eyes. _Oh God, no!_

Eric lifted the helmet from his head and handed it to the still stunned Pyro. The young man accepted the helmet with numb hands. He'd just witnessed the death of one of the mutants that he'd come to think of as a hero and family. He watched as the woman Mystique had become shifted and attempted to cover her body from three pairs of staring eyes.

Eric nudged him in the side and Pyro broke his stare, snapping his eyes away from the woman on the floor. _Right. Leave Eric to deal with this. No matter what happens, it's his decision. _Pyro slipped the helmet under his arm and pulled on one of Juggernaut's huge wrists to get his attention.

Cain towered above all others in the prison trailer, but he had been just as transfixed as the young man by what had just happened. The sight of a naked woman was inconsequential; the sight of a mutant forced into humanity had been jarring.

After witnessing Mystique's pain and terror, Pyro now believed in Eric more than ever, and Juggernaut decided right then to join the Brotherhood. The war had finally come home, it had brought down a comrade and galvanized their leader.

Eric vaguely noticed that Juggernaut and Pyro made their way back outside, stepping around the torched body of the guard who had shot Mystique. _Mystique_. She turned away from him; stringy black locks fell over her face, he watched her body shake as she silently cried before him.

This would not do, they couldn't stay here.

Eric removed his cape and kneeled down to her. He draped the material over her body. She looked up at him. "Eric…?"

Her voice, her eyes. This woman was a stranger to him, a human stranger now. He frowned. Not now. "Get up, we need to leave,"

His voice was curt, but his hands were gentle as he helped her stand from the floor and secure the cape around her body. Eric led the way out of the trailer, fury radiating from his form. Magnetic fields became warped for several miles, the ground itself began to shake.

Juggernaut and Multiple Man had never met face to face, only conversing while on the prison transport. She vaguely recalled that Jamie was a thief. The two latest members seemed uncomfortable when they saw her, and began puttering around the remains of the prison convoy. John moved away from them and came toward Eric.

Mystique couldn't look Pyro in the eye.

Once Magneto was visible, the new Brotherhood mutants emerged from the surrounding forest, mutants of every shape and size. Her body trembled, hard shuddering wracked her insides, but Mystique only hunched deeper into Eric's cape.

She was no longer his concern.


	2. Chapter 2

A wind was picking up along the road, whisking over the heads of perhaps 20 mutants. Eric stood among them, unquestionably the most powerful. He stood tall and held himself with the utmost of control. There were no telepaths yet linked to the Brotherhood, and for this one mercy, Eric was grateful. He couldn't bear to have anyone pry into his thoughts, he himself refused to face them just now.

No, he had to focus on what was important.

Pyro exercised some caution and remained silent as the group gathered close, though he did move to stand on the other side of Mystique, keeping her wilted form between himself and Eric.

Dark hazel eyes scanned the crowd for Callisto- she was no telepath, but she could sense mutant abilities. He worried that she would sense Mystique's humanity and attack. For all his mastery over flame, he knew that she would be too fast for him to protect Mystique if she decided to attack.

_There she is_.

The dark, angry woman remained within the crowd, though she was towards the front, awaiting instruction from her adopted master. Pyro wasn't blind, he knew that Callisto's aim was to insinuate herself into the upper links of Eric's Brotherhood. She was a rebel, just as he was, but even a rebel could see the benefit of being favored by their powerful leader.

Eric spoke few words to his mutants- simple directives that they would be alerted when the time came. He obviously wished them to leave; there were other things for him to consider now. The others nodded, understanding that their duty was to recruit more mutants to the cause in the meantime, but that the action was over for today.

Some of them playfully grumbled that Magneto and Pyro had been the only ones to use force against the humans, and none of them bothered asking about the woman huddled between the two. The assumption was that she was one of the newly freed prisoners from the destroyed trailer.

Callisto knew better.

_Human!_

She could register the soaring heights of Magneto's power, the raw energy he held in command; likewise she could feel the sensual danger of Pyro's ability, his was a power not fully evolved; it had been a source of annoyance to him that he could not create flame, but Callisto knew down to her bones that it would only be a matter of time for him.

The woman between them, however…a human. _A human!_ Why had a human been held in the prison transport? It didn't make any sense. The other mutants had taken their leave, but Callisto remained behind, intent to demand answers from Magneto.

She moved forward, and just as she's taken a step, so had John moved to block her path. "Hey, what are you doing?" she hissed at him. Eric and the woman had already moved off to join Cain and Jamie.

"Leave it, Calli, just leave it alone." He said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. I'll say it again- leave it alone. She has nothing to do with you," John said, his hand tensed on the trigger to his lighter strap. He and the mutants in Callisto's gang had butt heads nearly every time they were in the same room. Now was no exception- she still pressed forward, though he did not yield.

Indignation flared in her eyes, "Who is she? Why is she wearing his cape?" she demanded.

Pyro smirked at her, "Oh what, don't tell me you're jealous?" he teased.

"Don't be an idiot. Now you tell me why that _human_ is here!" she screeched.

Mystique felt her insides twist. Though they were far away now, she still heard a woman scream the word. _That mutant, she knows what I am…oh, what am I going to do now? _Eric stiffened beside her, but he didn't offer a word of comfort or reassurance, he didn't touch her. He turned to Juggernaut and Jamie, his words dictating and direct.

"I have a base near here. Being that you are newly freed, I doubt you have anywhere to go, correct? You will stay on with us, and God help anyone that ever attempts to break in."

* * *

Somehow, Mystique was led to the base along with everyone else, though her memory was dull. All of her senses felt dull, as if everything around her was muffled. Eric had not said anything or made any displays of interest in her at all- she didn't know what to think. Was his indifference a front put on for his new mutant recruits or did he honestly not care? Then again, if he didn't care, why would he have given her his cape to cover her body, why would he have allowed her to enter the base?

_Why has he let me live?_

The sudden thought lanced through her mind, leaving a sweep of angry suspicion across her thoughts. She wanted to die- she had been forced to become what she hated the most; what kind of life was it to live as this, a human, crippled of her power?

Eric was answering a few questions from two of their newest members, and Pyro was busy in a glaring match with the other mutant- the woman who'd declared her to the world as what she had ultimately become: a human.

Mystique was suddenly too humiliated to be anywhere near them. She was naked beneath the warmth of Eric's cape, naked and very much alone. She had already been standing off by herself, no one seemed to notice when she slipped away and off into one of the rooms that ran along the side of a corridor.

Once inside, she stripped off the cape and stood before a mirror in the corner of the dark room. Naked, she gazed at her reflection. In the twilight coming in from the window slat, her skin appeared luminously pale. The face was familiar. The same shape and size, only her coloring was different. She was still herself. Mystiquefelt overcome with desperate hope. _The cure can't be permanent.Everything has an antithesis. I will be me again, I am still me now!_

Yes, she admitted that she was scared, terrified, but she refused to wallow in self pity for long. She was entitled to a day of mourning for her mutantcy, but a day and no longer. Despite her circumstances, Mystique had ever been an optimist, and that outlook had not been stolen so easily as her powers. _There is work to be done. Eric still needs me! Today I am nothing, tomorrow I am everything …_


	3. Chapter 3

Mystique awoke, cold and alone. She shivered and realized that as her mutant self, she had rarely been bothered by temperature. Now as she was human, and once again warm-blooded, her body was bound to be different. Such a small thing, but she held back tears as she realized that she was well and truly different.

For how long? She did not know, and she knew that Eric did not know either. Mystique looked down at her hands. Pale, smooth, slender. Her body kept its same shape and size- she herself had always been taller than most, and very slender. Years of training had kept her toned, sleek, adding to the illusion of the dragon mutant. She moved to the mirror.

Physical beauty had meant little to her before- she thought herself beautiful in her mutant form, and always took advantage of copying lovely faces wherever she would see them. She felt a touch of relief that even as a human, she could still find beauty in her reflection.

Beauty was difficult to abandon.

Abandon? Mystique felt a ripple of fear in the back of her mind. Yes, she feared Eric's abandonment. They'd shared years together, and still she feared his abandonment. She thought that she should not feel such attachment- but who else did she have in the world?

Mystique touched her face. Smooth and pale. Light green eyes, touched with blue and gold flames. Full, girlishly pink lips. Black hair.

She didn't remember what she once looked like, her mutant form had been prevalent for so long; she did remember having black hair and green eyes, though. Well. She was lovely, Eric hadn't abandoned her.

_I'm vain, but what could be expected of me when everything- even my life!- has depended on how I look?_

Mystique dressed for the first time in years. She'd never needed to after she found the control over her powers. She found the process of buttoningthe shirt a little awkward, the whole thing was irritating beyond belief, but she was dressed and out the door in no time. _I must find Eric_, she determined.

Mystique left her room and did, indeed, find Eric. He'd been speaking quietly with Pyro. John turned once he saw her enter the room, and she had smiled at the both of them. She'd been silently praying for a warm reception from Eric; a word, a touch, anything! Pyro winked at her, but Eric retained the young man's attention and didn't bother to acknowledge her presence.

A spear of dread and anger shot through Mystique's chest. Eric didn't look in her direction, he went on talking to Pyro as if she wasn't in the room! A human, too pathetic to notice! Mystique crossed the room and slammed the door shut behind her, confused and angry. Why was he doing this to her? She'd moved to take a bullet for him, saved him from this fate!

_Ignored, beneath his notice, pathetic, human!_

Mystique kept a tight check on her emotions, reverting back to the factual reptilian mind that her mutantcy hadafforded her. The scales may have vanished, but the dragon lived on inside. She looked down at her pajamas, the only clothes that had been left in the room for her, and seethed.

These were not the sleek, designer "clothes" that once adorned her body. She wore Pyro's mismatched shirt and pair of sweatpants- uncomfortable, oversized, these were nothing like what she had become accustomed to!

She resisted the urge to tear the offending garments from her body right there in the front foyer of the house. She calmed within, smooth again. _No. Leave the clothes for now. Find more clothes, become Mystique again. Beauty is power, and I am still beautiful. Ignore me now, Eric, but know that your beautiful warrior still lives on, for you! _

She smiled, venomous, vindictive…and reached for a pair of keys.

* * *

Mystique had been gone for hours. To anyone else, it might have seemed that Eric wouldn't have cared whether she'd ever been born or not, but he did notice how long she'd been gone. _Five hours and 53 minutes, if one were counting…_

He had seen the pain and fury in her eyes, but he did not blame her. How could he? Eric knew that she more than likely hated him, blamed him for what had happened. Yes, it was his fault. He'd taken her in when she had been little more than a girl barely on the brink of womanhood. He'd nurtured her growing powers, trained her body, manipulated her mind…_corrupted_…

_No!_

Eric shook his head. Now was not the time to rue over Mystique's fate. He had no choice but to put her from his thoughts, it should be enough that he allowed her to remain with them, even though she was now human, as Callisto took such a delight in reminding him. There was another thought. That conniving little Morlock was quickly becoming a thorn in his side. He appreciated her obvious mutant pride, but her hostility was under very fragile restraint. Eric worried what would become of Mystique, should Callisto's hold break without him near enough to save her.

_Just as she saved me…_

Eric's fist tightened. He'd never seen such a pathetic, agonized creature as Mystique when she'd lain on the floor of the trailer, naked and trembling. It had been strange to think that the scruffy woman lurking in and out of the base was actually the Mystique that he'd devoted so much time to creating.

He'd seen her morph hundreds of times, but this had been different. This time, he may never see _her_ again.No time for this now- there were more important things to concern himself with. The cure source. Worthington laboratories. Amassing the Brotherhood. It was his divine right to protect his people, save them from the fate that had fallen upon his sensual demon, his beloved-

No, he could not think of her. His warrior, his beauty, Mystique must be kept from his thoughts.

_Five hours and 54 minutes…_


	4. Chapter 4

After eight hours and nearing 45 minutes later, Mystique finally returned to the base. All had noted her absence, and her return as well. She strode over the threshold, cool and removed. Inwardly, she wondered if she was pressing her luck with the ploy, but she did feel better- more confident, more herself.

The base was a house purchased several years ago, nearly fifteen miles away from the town below- just far away enough to remain private. Eric had bought the grand house under one of his identities. Mystique had not been the only chameleon in the Brotherhood. There were bases scattered in many different cities, or if not a base, then certainly the means of acquiring an immediate safe house.

"Jesus, where the hell were you?" Mystique turned to find Pyro jogging up to her from a hallway.

She had been hurt by Eric's indifference, and now she felt strangely touched by Pyro's obvious concern. "I was shopping, I can't wear your pajamas forever," she said in an attempt to relieve his worry.

The young man nodded in understanding, but was still visibly annoyed. "Yeah, well thanks for calling! I know it's stupid, but I went looking for you after Eric-"

"It's fine," she snapped. She didn't want to talk about Eric. The vindictiveness returned- she wanted him to see how beautiful and strong she still was, she wanted him to come to her and beg forgiveness for how he had behaved.

He never would, but Mystique wanted to dream. Still, she was consoled by the appreciative look on Pyro's face. Now that his concern was relieved, he took her in with his eyes. She stood straighter and arched her back towards him, smiling and giving a toss to her hair. "See something you like?"

He jolted, "Huh? I'm sorry, it's just, you're…"

Her eyes flashed. "What? _Human?_I'm still-"

"No, I was going to say beautiful!" Pyro said, reaching out to her. "Seriously, Mystique, I…look, it doesn't really bother me that you were, ah, 'cured' the other day, ok? We don't know anything right now, for all we know there could be a cure for the cure, you know what I mean?"

"An antidote? Has Eric said anything about it?"

"Not really, but when we were talking earlier he was saying that we should raid the clinic labs, get samples of the cure, play with it a little until we can find out what we're really dealing with." Pyro finished.

Mystique's shoulders slumped. "Oh. He didn't say anything else?"

"He's been pretty quiet lately, haven't you noticed?"

Mystique glared at him, "Yes, I noticed. Surely you noticed that he hasn't said a word to me since the prison trailer!"

Pyro's expression softened. "I, yeah, I noticed, and I'm not the only one that has. Callisto, Cain, Jamie- we're not blind,"

Mystique sighed. "…John, I don't want to talk about this anymore. Would you please help me bring in my bags?"

He smiled, "You were serious about what you've been doing all this time, you were shopping?"

Mystique shrugged, "Of course, I had to get an entire wardrobe."

Pyro laughed, "Women! Human or mutant, no one can keep you out of the mall,"

For what felt like the first time in months, Mystique laughed too.

* * *

Time passed somehow, slowly yet surely, from days to weeks- three months as a human, and not a word from Eric. Even when she had made overt efforts of forcing him to speak, Eric always found a way to avoid her. He had left the base several times; often his trips away lasted several days. Sometimes he would take Pyro or Cain along with him, the perfect warriors to carry out the destruction of the clinics offering the cure.

Whenever the small group returned, it was always Pyro who would inform her that no information had turned up in the labs that were destroyed. Callisto took a perverse glee in flaunting the obvious: Mystique had been replaced. Eric still ignored her.

Mystique felt ready to collapse from the grief he was causing her in his apathy.

She had stepped out of herself and attempted to become adjusted to her new human condition. Mystique had allowed herself one day to mourn, to be useless and weak- that day had ended long before, and still Eric refused to meet her eyes! The clothes she had worn reflected her spirit as it had always been: dark, sensual, alluring…

The other men in the house, Cain, Jamie and even Pyro were not so disinterested as Eric. She enjoyed their appreciative glances and the subtle innuendos tossed back and forth in conversation. Her confidence returned once she found that even as a human, at least Mystique had been able to retain her desirability- but it wasn't _enough_.

What Mystique yearned for more than anything was the return of her powers, and the return of Eric. She feared Eric's generosity would soon run out- she was a burden to him and everyone at the base knew it. Only Callisto had been bold enough to say so- and in doing so, she had forced the desperate confrontation with Eric.

It had been three months trapped as a human, and though Mystique did not show the rage and sorrow that trembled just beneath her cool surface, the strain of keeping her emotions hidden was beginning to eat her alive.

Eric had returned with information on where the cure could be located, and finally, destroyed. The moment he'd stepped over the threshold, his voice had echoed off of every wall in the base, demanding for everyone to assemble in the living room of the house immediately.

No arguments were given.

Mystique had been with Pyro, it was very late at night. He had taken to the habit of sitting on the bed with her, where they would talk. Sometimes the conversation would be light, though there were times when Mystique would reach out to him, when her longing for comfort would become too great, when she would confess her fury.

Pyro understood that Eric's behavior towards her pained Mystique perhaps as greatly as the robbing of her powers- but what could he do? If Mystique wished to speak with Eric, then it was up to her to do so. He only hoped that it would be sooner rather than later.

Upon hearing Eric's voice, Pyro leapt off the bed and gave no thought to grabbing Mystique's arm and hauling her down the hallway with him. They met up with the others while Eric was preparing to speak. Mystique and Pyro settled in with Cain and Jamie, while Callisto positioned herself closer to Eric.

Mystique glared at them both.

As had become the usual, Eric took no notice of her.

"The cure, the boy, is being kept in San Francisco, on Alcatraz Island. More clinics have been opened and several hundred of us have already taken it. My warnings have gone largely unheeded, the traitors and fools, they-"

"Need to be exterminated before they exterminate us!" Callisto finished for him, cutting in and rising from her chair. "Eric, how can you go on and on about this war when _you've_ been keeping one of _them_ under your roof?"

The room shocked into silence. Callisto continued, "You're a hypocrite, and everyone can see it! You hate the humans? You don't trust them? Then let me do it, let me rid the world of one more useless, pathetic homo sapien right now!" she demanded, turning to face Mystique.

Callisto was no doubt the fastest out of all of them, but in her pleading demand to Eric, she had not reacted fast enough. Mystique pounced Callisto as a mad cat, using her natural agility and strength to her full advantage. Pyro and Jamie had stood up and backed away, giving the women room to fight. Cain watched in fascination, while Eric seemed only mildly amused.

"What should we do?" Pyro asked Jamie beside him. He didn't want to jump into the middle of a fight, but there was no way he could use his flame without seriously hurting Mystique. She was his friend, but when it came to Callisto, John didn't mind if he singed her a bit.

Beside him, Jamie shrugged and smiled. "What should we do? I say sit back and watch. Someone's shirt is bound to get ripped off any minute now,"

Cain laughed from behind them, "You young guys can hardly think of anything else, eh? I don't care whose clothes get torn, so long as we're let out of the house and into some real action."

Cain was referring to the subject of Eric's meeting- the trip to California that, if things went as planned, would end the nightmare of a cure for mutation. Eric watched as Mystique erupted in rage, clawing bloody streaks across Callisto's cheeks and tearing out locks of her hair. Suddenly, as he watched the fight, Eric felt enflamed for Mystique, a horrible mix of rage and lust.

Cold steel eyes locked on to Jamie. "Separate them. Now."

Jamie shrugged and split himself into four- two for each of the enraged women. He was surprised to find Callisto the bloodier of the two, while Mystique only had a shallow scratch on her right cheek.Jamie forced them apart and stood back, awaiting instructions from Eric.

Mystique and Callisto were both breathing hard from the fight, though Callisto was obviously worse for the wear. "I'll kill you, bitch!" she hissed.

A look came over Mystique's eyes, the green orbs glowed with wild madness while her lips curled into a grin. "Oh, I'm already dead, Calli. Eric killed me,"

Eric moved forward then, pulling Mystique from the arms of Jamie's clones and hauling her away, away, away, to finally have it out- face to face.


	5. Chapter 5

Eric hauled Mystique down the corridor, forcing her into his room. He shoved her over the threshold and followed her inside. A minute touch of his power had the door bolted, locking them both inside.

Mystique's wild, raging eyes glared at him. "What the hell is the matter with you?" he demanded.

The woman leapt at him, screaming, her fingers curled into claws- she wanted to tear him apart! "What's the matter? Damn you Eric, you idiot, you stupid complete idiot! I've been stabbed for you! I seduced to set you free! I jumped in front of that dart to save you! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" she demanded, tearing at his dark sweater.

Eric's hands gripped her shoulders to restrain her from doing him a serious harm, but Mystique was unraveling. He was thankful that his room was soundproof. "You have nothing to say to explain. I'm right, aren't I? Even after everything I've done for you, it doesn't mean anything because I'm one of _them_ now…"

Mystique's arms fell limp, but her fury and sorrow radiated from her. "Mystique, don't you understand that-"

"Oh, I understand enough," she hissed, wrenching herself free from his hands. "You know I saved you, so by giving my life to save yours, that's earned me a stay at the base, but nothing else. This is the first time we've spoken in months, Eric. You won't even look at me."

The truth shamed him, but Mystique couldn't understand. He had refused to look at her these months out of a sense of horrible, crushing guilt- never disgust. What he felt for her could never be twisted in such a way.

"Even now, you have nothing to say," Mystique continued, her anger overwhelming herself. She had never spoke to him in such a way before.

As her mutant self, she had been calm and adaptable, never showing him disrespect. He had been her mentor and protector for so long, to have his affection withdrawn so easily engulfed her fragile mind with fierce resentment.

"After everything I've done, you can't even look me in the eyes and say 'thank you', or that you're sorry for all of this? You haven't touched me since the day it happened," Mystique spat. They had never been lovers, though it wasn't for lack of desire, more lack of courage and opportunity. A horrible thought occurred to her. "You touch Callisto, don't you? That's why she grins at me, that's why you take her with you whenever you leave. It should have been me, Eric."

This, finally, moved him to speak. "I've never touched Callisto-"

"You expect me to believe that? You're a liar and a coward, Eric. I hate you with everything I am- do you hear me? _Mystique hates you!"_

Ericrushed forward then, clamping his hands over her shoulders.He shook her, hard, and pushed her back until her head banged into the wall of his bedroom. For a moment, she saw stars from the impact.

"Stop this, stop it! You've gone mad, damn it! And even as mad as you are, you're right. It should have been you. It should have been Mystique, but you're not Mystique anymore- can't you understand that? You're not one of us, you don't deserve this life, this _torture_ that I've been putting you through!" Eric shouted.

They were close- steely blue and fiery green eyes burning, breath mingling in the air between them, ragged. Mystique spoke first. It seemed to Eric that she had weeks of pent up words, all of them released upon him now. He expected another mad rant, but she was short. "I am still Mystique."

The cool blue eyes burned at her. His voice was commanding. "Show me."

She glared at him, hoping to make him suffer in his arousal. The shirt was the first to go, then the bra, the jeans and shoes, and lastly, her panties. Mystique stood before him as she always had in the past- completely nude, the only weapon she'd ever needed being her body.

Eric came closer, the steel gaze drilling into her. Warms handscame to reston her hips, drawing her forward.

* * *

She woke late the next morning. Sunlight was seeping in through the bedroom window, and she remembered what had happened in the night. Eric had happened. She rose from the empty bed and went to the mirror. He had bruised her hips, thighs and breasts.

It hadn't been the gentle tenderness she had imagined when she was younger, when she was still caught in the flowery, silly infatuation she'd developed in their first years together. No, there was no gentleness in the night before. It was how she knew it would be. Eric had never been a gentle man. It had been rough. He'd hurt her.

Andwhere was he now?

She didn't bother to search the base.

Eric, Juggernaut, Multiple Man, Callisto, even Pyro- they were gone. She had been expecting it, but somehow John's leaving pained her more so than even Eric's. She didn't love John, or wish to take him as a lover- but he had been a friend to her these past months. Even Cain and Jamie had been friends.

She didn't bother to pull on the clothes she'd stripped the night before. The base was empty, she left the room naked. Her movements lacked grace- her bruised body and destroyed pride wouldn't allow it. There was a note for her on the table in the living room.

_'I'm sorry. You don't deserve this, find a good life. I don't love you. I never did. My end is near, I'm sorry...I lied, I do love you. Don't try to find me. Goodbye, Raven.'_


	6. Chapter 6

The air was cold in the office. Raven still didn't know what she was doing here. It had been several months since the time when she had allowed herself to be captured. She was not here now as a prisoner, and she was not here for information- rather she was here to tell everything she knew.

_Don't try to find me…_

_I don't need to try, Eric, I know you better than you think_, she thought idly as she waited for the officers to prepare their recording equipment. She had recovered no trace of Eric or the others, no clue as to where they went had been left behind in the base. Eric had been efficient to take everything they needed, happy to leave her behind as she slept off the onslaught that he had unleashed upon her in the night.

It was a strange feeling to be suddenly so alone. That strange sensation had creeped up and down her spine and built into a thundering in her temples. Loneliness, fury and a desperate need for revenge had overridden any semblance of mutant pride that she had clung to. Eric was right, again.

She was no longer one of them, Mystique was gone, she had disappeared when the cure had been injected. Raven had returned, only now she was wiser and stronger than the girl she had been when Eric had found her and taken her in as his own. Raven shook her head- that was a long time ago, she was a human now.

And as a human, wasn't it her duty to inform the authorities of the impending danger and chaos that would soon befall Alcatraz Island? Raven sighed and shifted in her seat. The coffee was bad- so much money spent on political gain, and yet no one could spring for Starbucks?

Raven glared to herself as she thought of Eric- she cared nothing for mutant domination anymore, the flight had left her months ago, when she had fallen as one of the first casualties. She wanted him back in his big plastic box, deprived of his powers and driven mad by boredom, alone with only his memories left for comfort. It would be fitting, to have him back in prison, only this time he would know that she would not lift a finger to rescue him.

She sighed again. The door opened. Her eyes widened in surprise, it was the same man who had handled her interrogation all those months ago! _Small world_, she thought.

"Well, isn't this a lovely surprise. Ms. Darkholme, I presume?"

It had been a long time since she'd thought to use her last name. "Yes, hello."

He placed a tape recorder on the table top and sat down across from her at the table. She wanted to wipe the smug smirk off of his face, but she knew that she deserved it- she deserved all the taunting that she was sure to receive. "I must say, I'm surprised to see you here. My superiors have informed me that the cure is viable, and you are our proof of it. They also tell me that you've come to us, willing to cooperate in the capture of Magneto. Please, for our investigators, I'd like you to tell me everything that's happened between the prison trailer and today."

Raven sighed. "All right. Er- Magneto stopped the prison trailer. You already know that. We were releasing the other prisoners when one of your guards aimed a cure gun at him. I stepped in and was shot. I am here before you as a human- I've been human for these past months."

"You took the bullet for him." There was no mockery in the interrogator's voice.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Raven paused. "He…it doesn't matter now. May I continue?"

"By all means."

"John killed the guard who had shot me. My body morphed back to my human self, and we made our way to a nearby base. It's a large house, located about a mile or so from the site where the prison trailer was destroyed. We've been living at the base all this time- save for the occasions whenMagneto would leave to recruit more members to the Brotherhood. I don't know how large their numbers are, but by now I'm sure it's at least over a hundred."

The interrogator nodded and jotted a few notes on a steno pad. "Now, you're telling me that Magneto allowed you to stay on, even as you were a human?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Raven sighed, "I don't know. During that time, I never spoke with Magneto. I suppose that, as a human, I fell beneath his notice. He allowed me to stay…with the silent understanding that I kept to myself."

The man across from her nodded once more, scribbled another note. "I understand. You've been living among them, but no longer as one of them."

"Yes."

"Tell me what happened when you were separated from Magneto and the rest. What happened on the final day, he must have said something?"

Raven remembered the note, it was tucked away in her purse. "He didn't mention much. But you know I've worked with him for years, I know his habits. There is a meeting place where the whole of the Brotherhood will gather and Magneto will outline the plan of attack."

The interrogator leaned forward. "Tell me more, and you will be granted full amnesty, a new identity, everything,"

Raven sighed one more time, and then the words poured from her like a fountain.

* * *

One week later, Michelle Sanders, once known as Raven Darkholme, once known as Mystique, sat alone in a hotel bar in Manhattan and watched the war between mutants and humans rage on a wall-mounted television.

A tear slipped down her cheek. She told herself that it was just allergies.


	7. Chapter 7

Raven had gone the extra mile to change her appearance. On with the makeup; gone were the dark clothes- she traded them for brighter, happy sundresses; her flat black hair became rich auburn. It was a new life- why not a new look?

_Once Mystique, once Raven, now Michelle._

Raven shook her head- she had lived under hundreds of different identities, man and woman, but she didn't wish to become accustomed to any one in particular. Still- nothing could change her circumstances, so she strived to make the best of things. She had confessed all she knew to the American government, yet Eric had been one step ahead of her, as usual.

Oh, the Brotherhood had met at the location all right- but several days before the date she had overheard him designate. The Brotherhood had moved on, leaving Jamie behind as a distraction for the President's troops. She hadn't counted on that, but luckily she had moved on to her new life as Michelle by the time the special force operatives realized they'd been had.

Jamie had not been recaptured, of course. The man they'd encountered in the woods had been yet another of his duplicates- the real Jamie had been laughing himself silly about it in a bar, miles from the site. Raven didn't know that, though, she had no idea where he was.

She admitted to missing him; he had been a friend, and more or less the "class clown" of their small group during their time at the base. He had made her laugh even when she had been at her most miserable- flirted and complimented when she felt at her most hideous. She hoped that he was all right- she hadn't heard anything about him bring at Alcatraz…

She had watched along with the rest of the world, the unleashed fury of mutant powers. As she had watched, her heart began to thunder and her stomach lurched. It had been nearly a week since then, and she was no closer to finding her place than she had been when first injected with the cure dart.

Perhaps that had been the reason she'd come here, back to Xavier's school for mutants. _The stories these walls could tell_, she thought. It had been the place that Eric had found her and seduced her with all his promises of mutant domination…

Raven shook her head. Pointless to think about it now. He could be dead- she had no idea what had happened to him. Reports on the news had claimed that they had not found his body. She shivered. That could mean several things- either Eric had escaped, or he had died; she had seen the extent of Phoenix's power. There might not have been a body left to recover at all.

Well, she would know soon enough.

Raven took no time to knock on the door, she walked over the front threshold and glanced around- little had changed,yet everything outside the school had been turned upside down. "Hi, can I help you?"

She turned to find a young blonde man coming closer from down a corridor. He was tall, and very handsome though he seemed timid. Shirtless, as well- lean, tan muscle was corded over his body. Raven bit her lip. She hadn't felt attraction to other men lately- then again, it had been a long time since she had felt anything at all. He came to her and she felt herself returning his smile. He made her feel warm, and much more welcome than she had any right to feel.

The sight of his wings, soft and pristine, made her swoon with envy and a deep longing to reach out and run her hand over his feathers.

"Oh, hi…um, I'm sorry…I-"

"Warren, get back!"

Raven's head snapped to the new voice and she cursed inwardly. _'Aw, shit…'_

Logan was barreling down the stairs, straight at her, his claws glinting in the afternoon sun streaming through the windows. She dodged him to the side, ducking around a marble pillar. "Wolverine, stop! Stop, please, you don't understand!"

"Logan, calm down, why are you- who is she?" Warren demanded.

Raven stopped just long enough for Logan to pause and turn to the blonde. "Logan, please stop!"

He turned back to her. "What are you doing here, Mystique?"

Raven flinched inwardly at the use of her name. "I…I came here to talk about what happened-"

"Why? Or better yet, why weren't you there? I was dying to get a second chance at spilling your guts." Logan growled at her.

In spite of the very real danger that Raven knew she was in, she couldn't help but laugh. "I see your brain hasn't evolved, even if your body has. I'm not here to fight you- for once, I'm telling the truth. I just need to talk to the X-men that were on Alcatraz,"

Logan sheathed his claws and moved forward, stalking her as an animal. She could see his nostrils flare, and the sudden understanding in his eyes. "You're a human,"

"That's why I wasn't on Alcatraz with the others. Now can we talk?" She hissed at him.

Warren had stood by, mute as these two former enemies caught up- once he understood that she was in fact a cured mutant, his heart lurched with guilt. Logan looked back to him. "Warren, do me a favor. Get everyone into Storm's office."

Warren nodded, for once not protesting this errand. "Um, yeah, you got it."

Logan turned back to Raven and grabbed her arm, dragging her up the stairs with him. She didn't make much of a protest, only grunted as he hauled her along. He stomped through several corridors, until he finally came to stop in front of a set of double doors. He shouldered them open, to find Ororo seated behind the large oak desk once occupied by Charles Xavier.

"Logan, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Don't bother worrying, this is Mystique,"

At the name, Storm's dark eyes flooded over with white, and Raven glanced out the window to see the sky darkening. "Save it, Storm, I'm not here to hurt anyone,"

"That's a laugh,"

"I mean it! I didn't come here to attack you or the students- for God's sake, stop it!" Raven demanded as the room whipped with strong winds.

"What are you doing here and why the hell should we trust that you're here to do anything but cause trouble?" Storm asked as she called off her winds.

Raven smoothed her hair, though Logan's clamped hands remained locked on her upper arm, squeezing the bicep. "I'm not here to…I'm not with the Brotherhood, I'm not even a mutant anymore...I was 'cured' months ago, I'm human now…I just have to know…"

Logan released her arm, and she slinked over to sit on the suede sofa in the corner, defeated as a whipped dog. "You were cured? You?"

Raven glared at Ororo. "Try not to sound so damn smug, bitch. Yes, I was cured. Now, can we move on? It doesn't matter, it's all over! I'm happy as a human! I just wanted to ask you about a few things that happened on Alcatraz."

Storm glanced over at Logan, who stood in the doorway, always suspicious. Just then, Bobby Drake and Kitty Pryde met up at the office doors. "Hey, you guys wanted to see us?"

Logan moved to the side to let them in.

Storm spoke up. "Hey guys. Um, this is…" she turned to the woman on the couch. Storm couldn't very well call her Mystique now- that name had been tied to her mutation and she didn't want to upset them by announcing that Magneto's favored assassin was lounging in her office.

"Raven is my birth name, but the feds gave me a new identity- Michelle Sanders, isn't that predictable?" Raven rolled her eyes, and then smiled at the two newest members of the X-men. "I just wanted to ask you what you know, or if you saw anything."

Kitty shrugged, "We saw a lot of crazy things that night- you want to narrow it down?"

Raven gave the girl a half-smile and then turned her eyes to Bobby. "You've grown taller since I morphed you,"

"Morphed? You're…Mystique?" he demanded, ice already forming on his hands.

_You're not one of us…_

She sighed and cleared her throat. "Not anymore. I was cured, and it's a long story. I'm not here to fight. I just wanted to know if any of you could tell me what happened to Eric and Pyro."

Raven noted the intense shudder that went around the room. She hadn't asked after Jamie or Cain simply because she hadn't known them long enough to make any true bond. It was John and Eric who had made up her family.

Bobby straightened and then cleared his throat, "Well, John's actually here,"

Raven felt her face brighten and didn't care that she broke out into a large smile- the first in weeks. "John's here? Where?"

Bobby shook his head, "Like I said, he's here, but he got hurt…I mean, nothing life-threatening, but it's a pretty severe concussion. He's been in the sick bay for the last several days."

Relief swept over Raven at the thought that if nothing else, John was alive. She dared to hope. "And…and what about Eric?"

Logan came forward then. "Magneto wasn't so lucky. He and Phoenix were ready to tear Alcatraz and everyone in it apart, we couldn't let that happen. We…defeated both of them. No one has seen him since."

He gestured to Storm's desk, and Raven looked to where he had pointed. On the bookshelf, between old photographs from Charles's past, rested Eric's helmet. A powerful shudder passed through Raven.

All eyes watched closely asshe took in the site of the defeated man's helmet and everything it meant. Her face paled and her eyes flooded over with tears, but she didn't begin to cry. Raven simply stood up, wiped away the tears that touched her cheeks, cleared her throat and demanded to see John.


	8. Chapter 8

Warren ended up being the one to lead Raven downstairs to the sick bay of the school. A lump rose in her throat at the strange déjà vu of returning to the underground world of the X-men. Charles had claimed he wished for peace and tolerance- but it had been he who'd assembled the X-men, hadn't it? Wasn't it he who had designed their training room and prepared the teachings of how best to use one's powers to fight? Hypocrite!

Raven forced the lump from her throat and glanced at the man who walked beside her. Warren was still without a shirt, but Raven was not bothered by the sight of his bare, golden skin. He was handsome and seemed a little shy; Raven wondered if he was only timid initially, she hoped that in time he would open up a bit more.

Warren was careful not to bump anything with his wings, or to drag the longer feathers over the floor. He found it hard to believe that here he was, walking through an underground tunnel with a woman that had been cured of her mutation. In his sheltered life, he had met very few other mutants outside of the X-men, and none of them had been a victim of his father's cure. He decided not to tell her that the cure had been designed because of him.

The woman beside him was beautiful, and there was also something beneath the surface that intrigued him; something fierce and violent. He cleared his throat. "Um, so John…I mean Pyro, he's your friend?"

Raven glanced over. "Yes. He's been with the Brotherhood for some time now…though I guess that's over with. Tell me what happened to him."

Warren shrugged. "Um, well I wasn't really around for the fight. I came in to rescue my father, and by the time I'd landed him somewhere safe, Jean, the Phoenix, was ripping the entire place apart. I caught up with Bobby and Kitty on the bridge, they were trying to escape with John and everyone else; he was unconscious and they were having a hard time getting anywhere, so I took him with me back here to the mansion."

Raven nodded. She didn't know what she had expected. "Thank you. John means a lot to me."

"Oh. Were you and he-?"

"No."

They came to the door and Warren had sense enough to let her go in by herself. Raven slid in through the door and locked it behind her. She didn't want any interruptions. John lay in the bed; he looked like he was just sleeping. Raven drew closer and felt her heart constrict at the sight of him.

A large knot was on his forehead, and dark purple bruising had spread over the left side of his face. Frankly, he looked awful, but Raven smiled and pulled a chair up to the bedside. "John," she whispered, "John, can you hear me?"

To her surprise, his eyes flew open, alert, and he looked right at her. "Of course I can hear you, you're not two feet away. I hit my head, I didn't go deaf."

Raven smiled, "Sarcastic as ever, huh? I'm glad you're all right. I had been worried that-"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be good as new in a while, back on my feet in a couple days." John yawned and stretched in the bed. He looked at her. "You look different. Not just your hair, it's something about _you_ that's changed."

Ignoring the comment, Raven took hold of his hand. "I betrayed you. I told the feds everything, the meeting site…"

John didn't say anything for a moment. Then, "I know. He knew what was going to happen." John said. There was no need to clarify who "he" was. "He moved the meeting up a few days, and we left Jamie behind as a decoy. The feds thought they'd at least recaptured him, but it was one of his duplicates." John laughed, "They were halfway back to D.C. to interrogate him, when Jamie pulled off his duplicate disappearing act."

Raven couldn't help laughing at that- classic Jamie to tease the feds and then add to their frustration. John laughed too, but then he became serious. "Mystique, I'm sorry about what happened."

_I am still Mystique_

_Show me…_

Raven tensed. No one had called her Mystique since Eric. "It's not your fault. I'm just sorry that you were hurt,"

John sighed. "Oh…I didn't just get hurt, I got my ass handed to me by that damn Boy Scout. I think he evolved in his training sessions or something, because he iced over his entire body and then head-butted me. I always got the better of him in training- it's beentoo longsince I've really trained; when I'm back in fighting form, I'll burn him alive, just roast him till the skin melts off his bones! Have you ever been slammed in the head by a block of ice? Not so different than getting hit with a brick,"

Raven's green eyes widened at what John had told her. "That guy, Bobby, you mean? He did this to you?"

"Yeah, and he likes to come down here every once in awhile and be all smug about it when he brings me food. Punk! Next time I won't waste time, I'll just do a flash furnace on him." John said bitterly.

Raven squeezed his hand. "You want me to poison him for you?"

He laughed tiredly and lifted a hand to gingerly poke at his bruised cheek. Raven saw him wince a little at the tender flesh, but he didn't say anything. "If you could, yes please. Him and Rogue, if you have the time. I don't even know why they've let her stay,"

"The girl? What do you mean?"

"That striped hick took the cure!" John growled, "No one forced her like with you. I just know that she jumped at the chance, and they're actually going to let her stay here so she can finally make out with Bobby. How pathetic! Joke's on him though- Rogue hasn't been able to touch anyone in years, probably doesn't even know where anything goes," John laughed bitterly.

Raven leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "You cocky little playboy, when's the last time you even had a date?"

He mock-glared at her. "Would you believe me if I said that I'm saving myself for marriage?"

She laughed, "That'll be the day! I'll be here for you when they let you go. The feds gave me a new identity, a place to live, money. I want you to come stay with me when you're ready," Raven didn't see much of an alternative for either one of them- shelonged for his friendship, and John was without a place to live.

John looked up at her. "I might, on one condition,"

Raven raised a brow, "And that is?"

"You walk around naked like you used to,"

She laughed. "I think your pain meds have made you delusional. I'll be back in a few hours."

Raven rose from her chair and slipped out the door.


	9. Chapter 9

"They didn't tell you what happened, did they?"

Raven started- she had thought she was alone as she'd wandered through the school gardens, musing on what lay ahead for her, and feeling thankful that at least she and John would be together for the foreseeable future.

John had more or less recovered from the injury he'd taken on Alcatraz and would be able to leave the school with her soon. Raven turned from the view of the property's small lake and felt a small measure of surprise to find Rogue facing her, with her hands on her hips.

Raven's face remained blank- she had been staying at the mansion for three days already, no doubt Rogue had been informed of what had happened to her by now. "What do you mean?" Raven's voice was steady, yet she pressed to read Rogue's body language and didn't like what she found- the girl wasn't afraid of her as she had once been, rather she looked almost mocking, superior…

"To Magneto, I mean. Storm and Logan didn't tell you what really happened to him, did they?"

Raven tensed at the mention of Eric- he was dead, and most of her efforts had been focused on keeping him from her thoughts. She didn't need reminders from the girl. Still, what was she on about?

"They told me he was defeated, I think that's enough." Raven said evenly.

Rogue shook her head. "No- Logan told me what really happened. They tricked him, stuck him with four cure darts,"

Raven tensed, her stomach lurched and her heart thundered…red, all around her, red…

Rogue cocked her head. "I guess he finally got what he deserved, you both did…"

Raven focused on Rogue through a red haze. The girl, the one Eric had centered his plan around, the child, she was mocking them! This girl, Mystique had been stabbed in her fight to protect her, she had been a crucial part of the plan…the little brat dared to…

Rogue never saw the attack coming- Raven landed a strike that Logan would have envied, she felt the girl's cheekbone shatter under her knuckles! Raven pounced like a great jungle cat, and for a split second Rogue could have sworn that the golden, predatory eyes that had haunted her dreams had returned- glaring at her from a beautiful, snarling face!

The pain was blinding, Rogue passed out a moment after she felt the back of her head hit the ground. Raven stood over the fallen brat with the big mouth. "Look at you! You never deserved your gift, you really are the pathetic little skunk John said you were," Raven hissed to her slumped victim. She recalled the countless times before when, as her beautiful mutant self, Mystique would corner her victims, pounce and strike.

There was once a time that she had tried to deny her mutant nature- the cold, vicious predator attributes that had emerged in her mind at the same time as her reptilian features. That time was long past, and Raven seemed to pick up right where Mystique had left off.

To think, Eric had been cured! Raven blinked back tears of fury and the unfairness of it all. Eric, her leader and protector, cured and worthless just as she herself had become…no! Not helpless, not worthless…had he escaped the chaos of Alcatraz? Was he out there, somewhere, alive even now?

_My end is near…don't try to find me…_

The thoughts flew from Raven's mind as her former vindictive instincts took hold, making her sharp, alert and infinitely more dangerous. She stared at Rogue's swollen face, the bruise already spreading, for several minutes. _You, the _**thing**_ Eric had me risk my life for…even if I could, I would never morph you…little traitor, you make my skin crawl!_

Raven lifted her gaze from Rogue's battered face and slid to the stark white band of hair- Eric's lasting impression. Her eyes narrowed. Her lips curled into a smile.

* * *

John had been resting in his old room for a while. His concussion had been subdued to mere bruising and, as ugly as it was, he felt much better after being let loose from the medical area beneath the surface of the mansion.

His room had been vacant for months- it wasn't his old sheets or blanket on the bed- but the little familiarities were a small comfort to him. He remembered the scent of the room, the crack on the ceiling he'd accidentally made by tossing a baseball, the sound of the mattress creaking…he thought of his first girlfriend, whom he'd met there in the school. It felt like ages ago. She had been a pretty girl with a cool power; they had had a lot of fun together.

She had been outspoken and competitive with him, John loved that. They had called her Dazzler, he'd always just called her Alison. John frowned. She had gone back home. He didn't even have a picture of her.

_This isn't home anymore_, he thought as he lazily glanced over to his window. The view was more or less familiar to him. It overlooked a stretch of the lawn and a part of the main garden, but he still had the strange paranoia of being a stranger among former friends.

Bobby had dropped the smug smirks, predictably falling to a strong sense of guilt when he saw that John was in true pain from their fight. Bobby had given up trying to convince John to come back to the school; he was resolute that he was finished with Xavier's.

Besides, he reminded himself, he and Raven were going to start over together in some place the feds granted her- a nice apartment in the artistic district of the city. He'd been surprised at the choice of place, but Raven had assured him that she'd swept it for bugs and found the place clean. It wasn't far from a nice park, there were plenty of restaurants and movie theaters to entertain him- anything else was just a subway ride away. Sounded too good to be true.

He'd been lying on the bed, resting and trying for a nap despite that he was rarely ever able to sleep during the day. Just as he'd felt his mind begin to drift into sleep, Raven slid into his room. He glanced up. She looked nice, though her eyes seemed a little bright. "John, get your shit, we've got to get going," she gestured urgently.

He sat up. "What? I thought we wouldn't leave for another day or two-"

"Change of plans, kid, now get what you need, we've got to go!" she said hurriedly.

John shrugged and grabbed a backpack, began to stuff his borrowed clothes inside. Raven rushed from the door, jumped over his bed and bounded over to the window. "What's with you?" he asked.

"Nothing. Are you ready?"

"Ah, yeah, I guess,"

"Good. Meet me in the driveway in five minutes. That should give us enough time," she called over her shoulder as she bolted out the door.

John frowned. He didn't know what was up with her, but even before all this had happened, he'd never known what to expect with her.

Bobby poked his head in. "Hey, Myst- ah, Raven said you were leaving?"

John shrugged, "Yeah, I guess so. I don't get why she'd rushing, but whatever."

"And you're going with her?"

John nodded, "I'm going. You're not gonna start crying on me now, are you?" he teased.

Bobby smiled. "I would freeze my tears so you'd never know," he drawled. "Anyway…um, it's weird, but, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Well. I know we were fighting, but I wasn't really trying to give you brain damage or anything," Bobby said.

John frowned. "Why not? A fight's a fight, Bobby. I mean, hell, I'm sure Magneto didn't actually _want_ to cripple Xavier, but it happened anyway. Shit happens in fights, what can I say? Next time, don't think for a second that I'll go easy on you. And for the record, I would've easily beaten you, and next time, I will! I never make the same mistake twice." John said curtly.

Bobby shook his head and sighed with a strange smile. "Ok, deal. I'll see you at the rematch. Take care of yourself, John." Bobby said, extending his hand.

Despite himself, John reached out and shook it. "Always have, always will. See you around Bobby."

John shouldered the backpack and strode down the stairs and out into the early afternoon sun. Raven was already waiting for him in front of the school- the feds truly had provided her with everything, including the black Pathfinder that rested with its engine running. John slid into the passenger seat- it was too early to test his luck behind the wheel. For safety's sake, he decided to wait until his bruises had faded a little more before he drove again.

Once they were on the highway, John broke the silence and turned to her. "So are you going to tell me what this is about or not?"

Raven's eyes didn't leave the road. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, for- give me a little credit, ok? Why'd you fly from Xavier's like a bat out of hell? What's with this mad rush?"

Raven took an exit and headed in towards the city. "You never told anyone where we were staying, did you?" She asked.

"How could I? You haven't even told me much of anything about the place yet." He said. "And don't try to avoid my question, ok? I wasn't born yesterday."

Raven shot him a glare out of the corner of her eye. "All right…we had to get out of there because of something Rogue told me."

"Rogue? What's that little swamp rat got to do with anything?"

"Nothing really, but she told me that Eric didn't die…or maybe he didn't. She never said for sure before…"

John tensed. "Before what, Raven?"

"She said that Eric got what he deserved…that little bitch was mocking us, she dared to-"

"Save me the melodrama, what the hell did you do? Oh God, please tell me you didn't kill her- Jesus, Logan will gut the both of us-"

"Shut it, I didn't kill her…I hit her…among other things…"

"What other things?"

Raven sighed and parked the Pathfinder against the curb of a decent looking building in a decent looking neighborhood. A little preppy for John's taste, but it was a lot better than the other places he'd lived when he was a kid. "I stole something," Raven said.

"Oh, big deal! What could you have possibly- that's not what I think it is, is it?" John asked, his eyes drawn to what she held. "Eric's helmet. Where did you get this?"

"Storm's office. She won't see that its missing until her class ends," Raven checked her watch. "And that's not for another half hour."

John handled the helmet with the utmost delicacy and reverence. "I think Storm will understand. By the time she knows we've left, it won't be any mystery to her who took it from her office."

John held on to the helmet and looked up and down the street. Raven looked down. "Hey, Raven, it's ok. I mean, it's not like they'll come after us just for this."

"There's more,"

"Oh yeah, what else did you take?"

Raven reached into the deep pocket of her jacket, and John recoiled in horror at what she pulled out to show him. A few strands of deep chocolate brown had slipped into the snowy mass- it was Rouge's white hair, stained dark crimson at the ends where it had been torn from her scalp.


	10. Chapter 10

John noticed that, after leaving Xavier's, Raven seemed to have slipped into some kind of depression. She'd tied Rogue's snowy hair together, not allowing a single strand to escape, and had placed it near Eric's helmet on a shelf at the far end of the apartment. There were times when she would just sit and stare at it. John understood- he missed Eric too.

Obviously he and Eric had never connected in the way that Raven had, but he felt free to miss Eric all the same. The man had saved his life at Alkali Lake, and several more times as they traveled the world, in search of mutants. He had been a leader, an idol in Pyro's eyes. As far as John knew, Eric was either dead or had somehow managed to escape and was now in hiding- a powerless human. In the end, John decided that it didn't matter; he and Raven had attempted to contact his other aliases, but so far had received no response.

He doubted if they would ever see him again. The thought often made him melancholy.

John looked away from the helmet on the shelf and nudged Raven- she was asleep again, he noticed that she seemed to do little else these days other than sleep or sit on the roof and stare out to the horizon. It had only been a few weeks since they had fled from Xavier's and so far John found this human life fairly mundane. After he'd gone with Magneto and Mystique, life had seemed an adventure- returning to normalcy was painfully boring.

"Raven, wake up," he said as she shook her shoulder.

Her hand was clamped around his throat before he could take his next breath. Raven's face was contorted into a cold scowl, but as quickly as she had awoken, her expression softened and she released him.

"I'm sorry John! I didn't mean to-"

John rubbed his neck. "You're fine, don't worry about it. Look, you have someone at the door for you."

"Who?" Raven certainly hadn't made any friends within the posh neighborhood that had had been given to them.

"It's that Angel from the school,"

"Oh…"

Raven smoothed her hair and stepped to the door. Warren stood on the front step, clad in dark jeans and a long trench coat. Raven knew what he was hiding underneath.

"Why are you here?"

Warren smiled. "You get right to the point, don't you Raven?"

"Naturally. I asked you a question."

Warren shrugged. "Oh, ok. Can I come in?"

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Yes, but if you try anything, don't think I won't be able to hurt you. And if, by some miracle, you're able to get the better of me- Pyro's still inside and those wings of yours won't take you anywhere if he burns off the feathers."

Warren smirked. "I'm not here to start a fight, leave that to Logan. I just came to talk."

Raven rolled her eyes and stepped aside. "Come inside."

Warren stepped inside and smiled at her- Raven ignored the urge to smile back at him. "Are all reptilian mutants so bossy?"

Raven mock-glared. "You really are a bird-brain. I'm human now. What did you come here for and how did you find us?"

Warren sighed as he took a seat on the small leather sofa in the living room. "Well, the wings aren't the only side-effect of my mutation- wings of an angel, eyes of an eagle. It's not like I was trying to find you, I was just flying past one day and I happened to see you. That was a couple weeks ago, before I went home to see my family. I wasn't actually sure you lived here until John opened the door."

Raven didn't know quite how to react to Warren's open nature though inwardly she was interested to find that he did seem to gain a bit of confidence once he worked past his initial shyness. She gave a light smile and sat down beside him. "Well, now that you found our hideout, who do you plan to tell?"

"No one. I'm not going to tell the X-men if that's what you're worried about. If I wanted to, I would have told them the day I saw you. You're right to be nervous about them- Logan said he'd attack the first chance he got after what you did to Rogue, and Bobby's not too thrilled either."

Raven bristled. "That little brat had it coming."

"Maybe. I think you might have overreacted, but it's not for me to judge. Anyway, you're a human now, yeah, but you were born a mutant. There's no proof of the cure's permanency- my father has had his entire staff go into deeper research…there could be a way to reverse it, but that's not why I came here." Warren said as he leaned in a little closer to her.

Raven gave no outward sign of interest at the mention of a way to reverse the cure- she had learned not to raise her hopes too high over the years. "Then why are you here?" she asked him again.

"I came to invite you and John to San Francisco."

John poked his head out of the kitchen, "I'd really rather not- last time wasn't such a great memory for me."

"I think it would be worth your wile, John," Warren said as he turned and grinned at him. "There's plenty to do- you're both welcome to stay at my place,"

"Why?"

Warren shrugged. "Look, I just got back from the airport. I can fly very fast, but not fast enough. I could have called, but I know that you wouldn't have believed me if I didn't come in person."

"Believe you about what?" John asked, stepping fully into the room.

Two pairs of curious eyes were set upon Angel. He smiled. "I've found Magneto."

* * *

Two plane tickets rested on the coffee table between Raven and John. She stared at them, he stared at her. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Raven looked up and they locked eyes. "No, I'm not sure. I don't know if I can face him…I had thought he was dead, that Phoenix had killed him- and you. When I saw the helmet in Ororo's office, I'd felt it, a sharp twisting in my stomach- _Eric's gone_…but then Rogue came to me that day, right before I ran to you and had us leave early. He was cured, and no one's seen him since. It had been enough of a shock to know what he'd gone through, being cured of his mutation, and now Angel's found him…"

John nodded. It was the most that Raven had said in a long time, and he understood how she felt. "If we saw him again, what would you do?"

Raven looked away. Did John know that she and Eric had…?

"I don't know. I wouldn't hurt him, if that's what you meant. I don't know what I would say."

John ran a hand through his hair. "He won't be happy to see us. He'll know that we knew he's been cured. It would hurt his pride."

"His pride has hurt me, I think we would be even." Raven hissed, her voice cold.

John shrugged at her. "You can do what you want. I'm going to see him. I'm not leaving you or anything, but I'd just like to see him again and say thank you. I'll come back."

"You think I'm worried about that? I don't need you! I want to see him again, but who knows how that will turn out?" Raven sighed, her body felt weak, her insides queasy.

John shrugged and took his ticket. "Only one way to find out, Raven."

She hated it when he was right.


	11. Chapter 11

"Nervous?"

"No. I fly all the time,"

John frowned at Warren. "I was talking to Raven, Birdlegs."

She turned to them, "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't really listening,"

Raven had been staring out the window for several hours, watching as the clouds and landscape passed by. Warren had commissioned his private jet for the ride back to San Francisco, and though John felt apprehension, he had no idea what Raven must be going through.

"We noticed- you haven't said a word all day," Warren said. He put a hand over hers. "Don't worry, Raven. I phoned my father earlier, there has been some success on the reversal process."

She ignored the rising hope in her heart and the tingling where their hands touched. "If there is a reversal process, I don't know that I would trust who was holding the needle. People, human and mutant, have been trying to hurt me all my life. Taking away my mutation was enough to take me out of the game; it would be too easy if they were to just hand my powers right back to me."

Warren shook his head and griped her hand tighter, a small reassuring squeeze. "You don't understand. My father did put a lot of funding into a development for the mutation cure, but it's not because he hates mutants-"

"Oh, of course not! He just did it out of the goodness of his heart, right?" John drawled.

"Please, listen to me. The doctors and scientists that work for my family aren't idiots; they're all highly educated and understanding people. They did the job they were paid to do, and they saw it as an exciting breakthrough- not a way to exterminate mutants."

"Stop arguing, boys. We're almost ready to land." Raven said, interrupting the two of them. They had been bickering lightly for most of the flight- she was tired of listening to it, she just wanted some time alone to think.

Indeed, the clouds had parted and the seatbelt light dinged on. The pilot issued a short message over the intercom.

John turned to Warren. "Look, all I know is that your 'highly educated and understanding' scientists had better find a way to reverse the cure before it's time for us to go back to New York."

"Or else what?" Warren challenged.

Raven's eyes widened. _So, the birdbrain actually has some guts under all that fluff_, she thought with some measure of approval. Warren's eyes, usually a soft and charming blue, had hardened to steel as he glared at Pyro.

"I'll torch the Worthington building. That was the plan. After we destroyed Alcatraz, he was going to let me do it, and I will." John said, the leather strap on his hand visibly strained.

"Not if I can help it. We're having them work day and night on the reversal process, and I have faith in our employees. I want Raven to have faith in them as well. The cure was never about mutants- it was about me. My father just wanted me to be a normal man."

The plane bumped slightly as it landed and pulled into the private hanger. "Oh, please, what's so great about being normal?"

"The safety of being around people who are just like you, I guess," Warren said as the doors opened and they made their way off the plane.

John scoffed, "Please, I'd feel less safe if I lost my powers. As long as I have a flame, I'm the most powerful man on the planet, and that's exactly how I like it."

"Unless someone gets too close and you get knocked out," Raven jibed as she nudged him in the ribs.

"One little mistake, and I don't like to get repeat concussions, thanks," he laughed a little as the car pulled onto the highway. "But what about you, Warren? You're honestly telling me that you would want the cure and never be able to fly again?"

"I used to want that," he said quietly.

"What! Warren, you can fly! Every single person on the planet has dreamt about what it would be like to fly," John said.

"It is wonderful…flying is wonderful...the first time, I was terrified. It took forever for my wings to grow large enough to support my weight, and even then I still had to train myself. I just started jumping off of fire escapes until I could glide into a landing...I was 15 when I finally, really flew for the first time. It's freedom, the only real freedom there is." Warren trailed off as he looked at Raven. "Can I ask you a question?"

Raven had been quiet the whole day, her mind in a different time and place, her eyes always absorbing the scenery out the window. She had been half-listening to their conversation- something about flying?- but she turned to give her attention to the handsome young man.

"Yes."

"Raven, what does it feel like when you morph someone?"

The question gave her pause, and as she thought over the answer, her spirit plunged ever lower. "I can't remember."

He took her other hand into his own, "I have faith in my company- we'll be able to jog your memory."

* * *

Two days after Warren's plane touched down, an urgent message was transmitted to his main office. For the more obvious reasons, he had chosen to work from home, at least until the time came when he would take full control of the company that his grandfather had found and his own father had expanded upon.

The message was from his father, and very brief- a simple statement that the reverse for the cure had been developed. Warren and John had managed to become more civil to each other for Raven's sake, though they doubted she would have noticed, distracted as she always seemed to be.

Her mood had not seemed to change much since they'd left the airport in New York- when not asleep, she sleepwalked through the day. John didn't like it; he assumed that she was anxious over the thought of seeing Eric again, of what they would say to one another. Either way, now that they knew of a way to bring back her powers, he hoped that she would snap out of it, and come back to him.

Warren shifted in the chair beside him. They were in the waiting area designated for patient families, while Raven was interred a few doors down. John had had to be forcibly removed from her room, so intent was he to stay in with her, but Warren assured him things would be fine.

"What is taking so long? How long does an injection take?" he demanded.

Warren shrugged. "It's only been a few minutes, the doctors need to ask her questions and things like that- when has a doctor's office ever been quick and easy? Relax- I like Raven, I wouldn't hand her over to just anyone,"

John didn't like how Warren was so reasonable and calm- he knew well enough that it was Warren who held all of the cards here; he was the one with the money and resources, he was the one who had alerted them to the reversal and Eric's presence. John knew all of that, but he didn't like it.

Finally, 20 minutes later, the door at the end of the hall opened. John jumped up from his seat and he started towards the figure that was coming out. He paused once he saw that it was Raven- Raven, just as she'd appeared when they'd first entered the hospital. John paused; her eyes were empty, her face very pale.

He went to her, reaching for her hands. "Raven…what happened?"

The woman before him seemed to tremble, her eyes- so empty before, began to fill with a mixture of tears and madness. She looked past John, to Warren. "Take me to Eric. Now."


	12. Chapter 12

Warren stood shock still in the hospital corridor, his eyes riveted on Raven. She looked exactly the same as when they had entered, though the gleam of mad joy remained in her eyes. She'd stared dead at him and demanded that he take her to see Eric. He didn't want to think about why an angry refusal had leapt to the tip of his tongue. Jealousy, he knew. Warren wasn't a teenager any longer, he was a fully-grown man; in five or so years he expected to take the company reigns from his father, full responsibilities would soon weigh on his shoulders.

He was a man, attracted to a beautiful woman. There was nothing wrong with that, he knew. However, he cursed himself for becoming attracted and even a little attached to this woman in particular. _You couldn't have chosen worse if you'd tried_, he berated himself. _She belongs to Magneto of all people; better to just enjoy what you can get…_

He swallowed his disappointment and nodded to her. "Follow me up to the roof,"

The three of them mounted a stairwell and began to climb, though luckily they had been near the top floor already- three flights up and strong, hot winds coursed over them as they stepped outside.

John put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the merciless sun. "How are we going to get to Eric from here? You don't even know where he is,"

"I've seen him a bunch of times in the same place, usually around this time of day. I can't see the park from here, so we'll just have to fly by to check." Warren said, some of his disappointment starting to ebb away. _I might not get the girl, but no one else will give_ _her_ _a ride like this_, he thought. Ideas sparked in his head, and he felt a small measure of satisfaction with himself.

Warren unhooked the leather straps that bound his wings; he couldn't lie and say that it wasn't uncomfortable, but it drew attention away from that part of his body- his brother had teased him, calling it an Angel Bra. Warren hadn't thought it was funny.

He stretched his wings, concentrating on the winds as they flowed through his feathers. Instinct had occurred to him once he'd begun to fly- temperature, wind speed, thermals, tidal shifts- all the factors that added up to bring out the best flying weather, his body was attuned to nearly every detail of the air. His hearing was acute, his eyes could rival any raptor's.

In a way Warren resented the nickname of Angel, a being that, although a powerful beacon for truth and goodness, was nonetheless quite feminine. With his abilities, he often thought of himself as an eagle, a falcon or a hawk, a deadly bird of prey. Well, this Raven seemed attracted to dangerous men, perhaps he'd show her that there was more to Angel than lily-white wings and cherubic features…

He concentrated on the wind for a moment more, and then turned to Raven. "Ok, I'm ready when you are,"

"What were you just doing?" John asked, clicking a flame in and out on his Zippo.

Warren shrugged. "I was just testing the weather, and it's good. Very good, I couldn't have asked for a better day, to tell you the truth…Raven," Warren held out his hand. Since the hospital room, Raven hadn't said a word, only commanding him to take her to Eric.

She had been staring out over the city, her green eyes still bright. Raven turned to look at him and Warren used his keen eyes to memorize her features as she stood there before him, framed by the setting afternoon sun. Beautiful, but not his.

_It's all right, you did this good thing for her, it has to be enough._

She came forward and took his hand. Warren abruptly pulled her closer to him, her body so close to his that their lips were barely an inch apart. He then kneeled down and swept her into his arms and ran for the edge of the building, top speed, just as he had in his father's laboratory all those months ago.

He was vaguely aware of a voice shouting at him, but he ignored them and instead listened to the call of open air.

"Warren, hey what about me!" John yelled, chasing after them. After a few steps he gave up the chase. Warren was faster, and once he reached the edge of the roof, he dropped like a stone, out of view, with a terrified Raven in his arms.

"Figures, all the flying mutants get the girls," he muttered, thinking first of Eric and then Warren. He sighed and watched as Angel bobbed back into view, hundreds of feet away from the roof and now easily gaining altitude, rising about the skyscrapers and finally disappearing into the clouds.

John rolled his eyes, "Showoff!"

He didn't like Warren's obvious attraction to Raven- as what he thought himself to be, a loyal protégé of Eric's, he didn't like to see someone else trying to move in on who he thought of as Eric's woman. But then again, did Raven see herself that way? Or was she only so eager to see Eric so that she might try to attack him for leaving her that night.

They had all left her- John hadn't wanted to do it, he'd argued with Eric, but his loyalty to mutants had outweighed his loyalty to Raven. He didn't know what was going to happen, it felt like too much to wrap his head around. Still, he couldn't get much done while stuck up on the rooftop of a hospital in downtown San Francisco.

He took a deep breath of the salty sea air. "I need a drink, a swim and a woman- in that order," he said out loud to himself. With his motivation in place, he turned back to the stairwell door.

* * *

Meanwhile, thousands of feet above the ground, Raven was frozen, terrified, and huddled close in Warren's arms. He sifted her just slightly and Raven grasped him tighter. "Don't worry, I'd never drop you," he said reassuringly. "Open your eyes, Raven, look at me. I promise you nothing is going to happen,"

Reluctantly, Raven did as she was told, and first looked at Warren before looking around her. Fluffy clouds were all around them, pressing in on all sides. Then, she looked down and almost screamed.

He felt her body tense. "Raven, haven't you ever been flying before?"

"Y-yes, just, never like this," she said shakily. He grip remained iron-strong on Warren, but she wasn't so terrified anymore, rather, she felt exhilarated.

"Can't Magneto fly?"

"Sort of, he used magnetism to levitate himself and other things- people, metal…he can- _could_ use the earth's magnetic field to levitate anything," she said.

Warren had nothing to say to that, he only flapped his wings harder and leveled out, gently descending until they were only just above the city's skyscrapers. "I never used to fly over the city, my parents were terrified that someone might try shooting at me, or that something would happen and that I would fall…I would fly over the water at our beach house, we usually spend the summers there. I've flown over the city everyday since everything that happened at Alcatraz. My father begged me to forgive him for making me believe that my mutation was something to get rid of, and I did, of course. He is my father."

Raven broke her gaze from the view and looked up at him. "My parents were terrified- one day I was me, then I woke up with scaly patches, one eye was yellow, my hair started to streak…I wasn't their girl anymore. They didn't truly try to kill me, but they told me to leave and not to come back until I was 'normal' again. It's been over 15 years."

Warren didn't say anything, but held her closer to him.

* * *

John took a swig from his fourth longneck bottle of beer and turned his eyes to the beach. When they had arrived in California for the fight, of course he hadn't had any time to admire the scenery. _And what wonderful scenery it is_, he thought as he followed a few girls with his eyes as they laughed loudly and ran down the boardwalk.

He felt good- free. When he'd been under Eric, his thoughts were mostly consumed with anger at what humans the world over were doing to his fellow mutants- anger and vengeance filled his mind, and Pyro still felt that way. He still wanted to fight to protect mutants, and not with diplomacy or discussion as had been the Professor's weapons of choice. True, Xavier had done much for mutants, but in John's honest opinion, Eric had done so much more.

Eric, Magneto the mad terrorist, whatever he was being called these days. One man's terrorist was another man's freedom fighter. Pyro wondered if Raven had caught up to him yet, and what was going to happen now. He knew that he was no leader-if Eric ever needed him, he knew that John was loyal, but for right now, the mutant effort was exhausted and a truce seemed to have been called. There hadn't been any conflicts in months, it was peacetime and John was grateful.

He paid for the beers and took the last bottle with him, heading toward the beach. Funny, how as a pyrotic, one would think he'd do all in his power to avoid water, but he'd been born in Australia and spent most of his youth there. With such scorching heat, it was only fair thatthe countrywas surrounded by wonderful ocean on all sides. He could swim, surf, water ski and snorkel with the best of them, and he intended to show off once he reached the shore, and hopefully gain some company for his efforts.

Not that he was just looking for an easy lay, but he didn't see any way that he could get into a real relationship while he and Raven were going to be in California for just a few more days. Better to just test the waters, not jump in headfirst.

John finished off the last of his beer and chunked it into a trash bin. He walked forward and slipped off his flip-flops, relishing the feel of hot, gritty sand between his toes. He had never minded the heat. With Warren and Raven otherwise occupied, he'd been able to slip back up to the penthouse of the Worthington family and snag a few things he needed for the beach- cash, a toweland his pair of swim trunks.

He left the shoes on the dry sand and walked right into the waves. The water was cold and salty, unbearably refreshing. In an instant, John's skin had puckered with gooseflesh and he laughed out loud at the sensation. He dove under the surface and sprang back up, in love with California and everything in it. He ran a hand through his hair and took a look around- bikinis and beautiful exposed skin as far as the eye could see.

He spied a group of girls- blondes, his favorite!- a little ways down the beach and headed towards them. They all were similar in their attire: teeny bikinis, though John wasn't about to complain over that. Golden skin was on display; naturally tanned by the sun, too, none of that spray-on nonsense. Luckily, he could distinguish them by their suit colors and hair lengths.

He was coming closer and flexed his visible muscles once he saw that they noticed him, but immediately as they saw him, they turned away to greet a couple other guys that ran over to them, aggressively getting the point across that they were all spoken for.

Disappointed but not discouraged, John moved further down the beach in search of other bikini blondes who would, with any luck, be unattached except for a few hours spent with him that night.

* * *

"Where the hell is he?" Raven demanded in a state of near despair. The disappointment was crushing. Even from thousands of feet in the air, Warren had told her that he couldn't see Eric at the park- Raven had refused to accept this, and ordered him to land so that she could see for herself. Now she not only felt powerful disappointment, but also very foolish.

"It wasn't a guarantee that he'd be here. I've seen him out here several times but I can't make any promises…do you want to try again tomorrow?" he asked. In truth Warren wasn't too bothered by Eric's absence, it gave him a little more time to be alone with her. He wasn't too selfish, was he? After all, from what he understood, Eric might not have treated her the way she'd deserved.

Raven hung her head. "Okay, fine…tomorrow we can do a stakeout."

Warren stretched his wings again, adjusting the right feathers for takeoff, but stopped once he felt Raven's hand on his shoulders. "Warren, do you mind if we just walk back to your place, please?"

He shrugged and nodded. Maybe he had overdone it earlier- first times can be pretty jarring. "Yeah, all right."

The walk back to the building that housed the Worthington family penthouses was a short one. Raven was quiet in her anger and disappointment, while Warren walked silent beside her. He didn't like to see her hurting, but what more could he do than what he had already?

They walked through the lobby and stepped onto the elevator. Warren's alert eyes took no notice of the older, distinguished gentleman who had followed them nonchalantly from the park. Eric's eyes lit with disbelief as he watched Raven and Warren step onto the elevator together.

_How could she...?_

Raven did not speak on the way up to his penthouse, but Warren hadn't expected her to. She was upset and disappointed and angry, he knew all of that, and more or less understood the why of it, but all the same it didn't make him feel much better. They stepped off the elevator together and Warren brought out his keys.

He quickly unlocked the door and strode in.

"Aaagghhh!"

Warren started at the sight of a young blonde woman clad in nothing more than a towel. Bright flashes of color lit up the entire apartment, blinding him for a moment. He raised an arm to shield his eyes and instinctively puffed his feathers to make himself appear more threatening- not that he couldn't physically subdue the intruding girl if he had to, but old habits die hard.

"Jesus, who the hell are you?" He demanded.

John stepped out of the bathroom asecond later, a towel draped around his waist. "Whoa, whoa, let's everyone chill out!"

Raven blinked the floaters from her eyes and instantly made the connection. "John, you could have asked first you know, or at least given some warning!"

"Hey, I- you're right, I know, but hey, let's have a fresh start, ok? Look, this isn't as bad as it looks, I promise. There's only one girl this time," he rambled.

Raven rolled her eyes. "You sure she's not a multiplier like Jamie?"

John smirked back, "I wish, but no, this is Alison- we, ah, used to go to Xavier's a couple years ago," he explained as he slid an arm around the blonde's slim waist.

The girl's eyes were riveted on Warren's wings, but she seemed more awed than afraid, which was something to be thankful for. Raven didn't acknowledge the girl, her annoyed eyes remained on Pyro. "Just get her out of here within the hour,"

With that, she took Warren's arm and they both left the apartment, heading off towards the roof.

John turned to Alison, "Well, what now?"

She smiled, his golden dancer. "You heard the lady, we still have an hour to spare,"

John nuzzled her neck, "Not long enough…where did you say your family was staying?"

She pouted, "Nowhere nearly this exciting, who were they?"

"Ah…friends of the family. Let's go down to the boardwalk, I'll tell you all about it."


	13. Chapter 13

John threw his arms around Alison and they twirled in the sand, "God I missed you-"

His favorite blonde tossed her hair and playfully wriggled her way out of his embrace. "Oh, you really missed me, huh? What was it you said to that woman- something about that she shouldn't be mad because there was only one girl? It sounds like you've been doing pretty well without me so far,"

John shrugged and lunged at her, though Alison easily dodged. John chased her over the sand, "Ok, I won't lie! There have been other girls! Since you left Xavier's, I flirted and dated, and yeah, I slept with three other girls since you- but you don't really want to spend the rest of the night rehashing our little black books, do you?"

He finally leapt forward and caught her around the waist. He nuzzled her neck.

Alison thrilled to his attention; when he'd approached her on the boardwalk, only hours ago that afternoon, she had been almost speechless at the sight of him. Gone was her introverted, skinny boyfriend from sophomore year at Xavier's, replaced with this well-muscled character. She hadn't recognized him at first, and had done several double-takes to make sure.

She had been with her sister, tan and blonde like her, but she had been the only mutant born into the family. Her younger sister, a lanky seventeen year old who chose to adopt the nickname of Angie, had been the one to call her attention to him. "Alison, look at that guy over there, he's heading straight for us," her sister's voice had carried with it an element of excitement, but Alison had always been one to play it cool.

She nudged her, "Jeez, Angie, who taught you how to flirt? Watch and learn, I- oh my God, is that…?"

"Who?"

"He looks just like this guy I dated at the mutant school…it can't be him though…"

John heard the last statement and moved right up to her, "Oh, yes it is! Alison, you look…wow," he finished as he made no secret of his approval while he looked her up and down.

She had been skinny and awkward as he had been- what to expect from a couple of freaks in a school dedicated to their fellow freaks? Now, though…John couldn't stop himself from looking at her, starting from her painted pink toes, moving up mile-long tan legs, a slender waist, high breasts and a striking face. She had always been pretty as a girl, but now as a young woman she could stop traffic. His mouth went dry.

"John…my god, is that you? You're looking pretty 'wow' yourself!" She said, returning the up and down appraisal. He'd grown taller and gained some much needed wait, most of it was obvious muscle. His face seemed harder, more defined, and his dark hair had grown lighter. He'd never been a fan of guys who dyed their hair, so she chose to assume that it was simply a visible manifestation of his mutation.

Alison had felt joy surge through her chest, and couldn't stop herself from jumping forward and forcing him into a hug. From there, they have just become completely absorbed in each other for the rest of the day and night.

She sighed, "Ok, ok, fine…I think I'd rather keep quiet about my boyfriends too, since there have been so many…" she stifled her laugh at John's sour face. "Hey, John, come on! We're on vacation, we're on the beach! I mean, you took me back to a penthouse and we were busted by an angel- how wild is that?" she laughed, "I almost put on an entire laser show I was so surprised by him," Alison went on, snapping her fingers and creating flashing sparks of colored light.

John looked out over the dark ocean, and thought that, reunited with the only girl he'd ever loved, out on the Cali shore, there was nowhere else he'd rather be. He sat down in the sand and stretched his arm out to her. Alison slid down to sit next to him and enjoyed the closeness they could share, while time was still on their side.

* * *

Raven looked out over the city. "I'm sorry about John…he said he knew that girl from school, some old girlfriend I guess. I'll throw him off the roof if you want me to."

Warren smiled slyly and shook his head. "No, I don't think you'll need to do that- he's still a kid, I'm sure we both have a story like that, some kind of skeleton in our closets…"

Raven shrugged, "Not me, not really. Part of the job was to never get caught, you know? I haven't made it clear, I know, but Eric and I…I loved him, in the way a student loves her teacher. I believed him, I hung on his every word when I was younger. I was a student at Xavier's when he arrived and presented us with the idea of actually using our powers as a way to stand up for ourselves. Before, it had always been, 'hide and turn the other cheek'. Xavier…what did he know? He never had to wake up in the morning and look at this,"

Then, as Warren stood beside her, baffled, watched as Raven was swept away before his eyes, revealing the infamous Mystique standing in her place. The creamy skin was engulfed under a dark sea of indigo scales, the green eyes swirled away into bold chrome yellow and her dyed auburn hair twined into the long crimson scales that covered her head.

He looked at her, unsure of what he should say- it was the first time that she had morphed in front of him. Though he had seen pictures and video footage of her in her mutant form, there truly was nothing like the real thing. "Whoa," he breathed.

The dark lips smirked at him. "Yeah, whoa. It feels good to be back," she relished the echoing timbre of her own voice, a medley of every form that she'd ever morphed.

"You're beautiful…" Warren felt mesmerized by the unique woman before him, almost entranced.

"Warren, that reversal injection…thank you," Mystique leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. He was surprised, but he couldn't say that he also wasn't pleased and a little bit thrilled.

He reached to bring her closer and deepen the kiss, but Mystique pulled back. "I like you a lot, Warren. You're a really good guy, but I'm not for you. You knew that before I even came here."

Warren shrugged, defeated but his pride remained intact. "Yeah, I know I did," he sighed. "But you can't blame a guy for trying, right?"

Mystique laughed. "I guess not. Don't worry, John and I will be out of your hair soon." She seemed intent to end the night there, but paused on the way to the stairwell door. "Hey Warren?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her, this conversation was reminiscent of the short talk they'd had on the plane. "Yes."

Mystique's yellow eyes held his, and she looked out over the city skyline horizon. "What does it feel like to fly?"

As she asked the question, she began to morph herself back into the human form that he had become so attached to; the only difference being that she had also created for herself a pair of wings- Warren's eyes widened at the sight, his heart thundering at the sight of a kindred spirit. The wings rose above her shoulders, the feathers a sharp black to contrast with his own pristine white.

He understood- this would be a night for them, tonight they would own the sky. He thought it fitting that he could give her the one thing that apparently, Eric never had. Tomorrow, he would deliver her back into another man's arms, but tonight he could give her the sky.

He took her hand and led her to the edge of the roof.

* * *

John and Alison didn't part ways until nearly four in the morning. His lips were still tingling from her last kiss as he let himself into Warren's penthouse. He hoped that Mystique hadn't waited up for him- he didn't feel like talking, he just wanted to crash. It occurred to him as he crossed the living room that he'd nearly forgotten the reason that Warren had brought them across the country was to find Eric…well, he'd been a little distracted…

John pulled off his t-shirt and exchanged his swim trunks for a pair of boxers. A moment later, he was in bed and dead to the world.

Mystique stood over John and watched him as he slept. He had found happiness while in the company of that girl, and not just the happiness that comes from the release of sex. John was happy. Mystique didn't want to wake him- what had to be said was to be between she and Eric first, and then, afterwards, John could go see him.

Warren was still asleep as well, exhausted from all the flying they had done the night before. In truth, so was she. It was enough of a challenge to create the wings from her flesh, but then the flying! Amazing, as she knew it would be- when he'd carried her, she had been terrified of being dropped, but when the wings were her own, she had felt indestructible.

Time's up, she thought. They had only been in California for a few days, but she now knew where to find Eric, and was prepared to do whatever it took to meet him face-to-face. She checked her purse for the weapon, and stepped out into the hallway.

Mystique stepped out of John's room and left the penthouse altogether. She had morphed into Raven and made her way on to the park where Warren had told her she'd find Eric. She took a seat at a table and decided to try playing a game of chess against herself while surveying the park.

The black side had nearly made checkmate against the white, when a shadow fell over her board.

"Hello there Raven,"


	14. Chapter 14

Startled, she looked up to find Eric. Her mouth went dry and for a long, tense moment her mind seemed almost as if it had frozen in time. He stood over her; his face set grimly, his steely eyes guarded. When it became apparent to him that she could say nothing, he took the seat across from her.

His movements snapped Mystique from her trance. "Eric…"

Hesitantly, he reached his hand forward and took one of hers into both of his own. "Raven. How did you find me? I wrote to you, I told you not to look for me…I don't want you to see me like this…"

His heart fluttered slightly in his chest that she did not pull away from him- he remembered the way that he'd left her all too well. Eric had never been one to enter into endeavors lightly. His past was consumed with far too much horror and heartache for him to have a lighthearted approach to life- his relationships with women were no different.

He was not so lost that he could not love. He had loved his first, he had loved those that came after, he had loved his warriors, his companions and his friends. He had loved his wife, his one wife…there had been women that feared his power, women that challenged him and women that had been killed, used as a way to get at him by his enemies…

Mystique, for all her glory, could be no different. In her ranting that night, she had proved everything to be true- for him, she had risked her life countless times, nearly losing it to Wolverine, a mission that he'd sent her into. She had been forced to lower herself into seducing the disgusting guard. Eric was constantly bothered by the nagging thought, the wondering of what kind of acts the odious Laurio had had her perform before finally giving up the information on the prison where he'd been held.

And now, Mystique had lost her mutation because of him. The guilt had given him powerful anxiety attacks nearly every night. While the others had been asleep, Eric had been convulsing in pain, curled on the floor and wracking his mind to find a solution to bring his Mystique back. The night she'd ranted at him, every single word she'd said had been true- he had been ignoring her, he hadn't spoken with her, not even looked her in the eyes during their stay at the base.

It had been a horrible mistake to sleep with her.

In all of their adventures, he'd never crossed that line, no matter how many times he'd considered it, no matter how strong his desire. He was a man, and naturally desired the flesh of a woman, but Mystique often seemed unattainable. There had always been too much to deal with- recruiting more mutants to the cause, planning tactics against anti-mutant militant groups, gaining information…he'd had no want to further complicate things. He had grown to love Mystique- his student, his right hand, his companion and great friend- too much to burden her with his feelings.

He didn't know why he'd let his control slip with her that one night; he'd been rough, he knew it, he'd looked upon her bruised- _used_- naked body the morning after their powerful union. Her face had been peaceful as she slept, but he'd known that the moment she awoke things would never be the same between them again- she'd look upon him with untrusting, angry eyes.

Still, there had been bigger things to worry over. He was a leader, and couldn't afford to put himself over the other mutants who so needed him. He'd ordered Pyro to assemble everyone and had them leave within the hour. The young man had demanded that Eric at the very least leave a note for Mystique to explain, rather than just leave her with no idea as to what had happened.

_'I'm sorry. You don't deserve this, find a good life. I don't love you. I never did. My end is near, I'm sorry...I lied, I do love you. Don't try to find me. Goodbye, Raven.'_

The note he'd ended up leaving was short, but seemed the easiest way to convey how he'd come to feel about her. He didn't want for her suffering; truly, he wished to give her a happy life, but what had he brought upon her so far? The misery of fallen friends, constant risk to her life, the use of her remarkable abilities taken from her…

Mystique blinked at the name he called her. "I just…I'm not sure. I wanted to see you." Her hand tightened on the small clutch purse in her lap.

Eric's eyes held no anger toward her- how could he? He wondered if she knew that he himself had fallen to the cure; an ironic end, it seemed. He didn't want her here to see how far he'd sunk- he'd once been all-powerful in her eyes, she had adored him…those days were long behind them now. The shame and guilt came after him in a sick rush.

"You shouldn't have come to me. I know that you're well-off, the government pays well for information." He said coolly.

Mystique blanched. Eric nodded. "Yes, I know that you told them where to find us. It doesn't much matter now, though, does it? Don't be sorry. I should apologize to you. I never thought things would end this way,"

"Who says that things have ended?" Mystique's green eyes gazed deeply into his own. "I came all this way to see you, Eric. Please don't push me away now. We're not strangers or enemies."

Her words brought on only more guilt over the end that had found them both, and shame over how he'd used her for so many years. A cold hand squeezed his heart. His hands tightened over hers. "I ruin everything I touch," he stated coolly, inwardly dying once he realized how right he was. He had failed many- the mutants who needed him to fight, Charles, Magda, his children, John, Mystique.

She reached forward to run her fingertips lightly over his gaunt face. "You didn't ruin me," she said softly.

A sudden, jealous spear lanced through him- had she touched anyone else this way? He caught her slim wrist in an iron grip. "How did you come to be with the angel?" he demanded.

Mystique pulled back her hand. "He brought John and I here to see you."

_Oh, good God, John is here too?_ Cold waves of shame swept over him- how could he face John as a human man, rather than the powerful mutant leader he'd been before?

Eric hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Raven…please, no more. I can't talk to you here," it was too public- he felt exposed and vulnerable; the walk back to his place would give him time to collect himself.

Her pale face seemed concerned. "We can go to Warren's apartment-"

"No! I'd rather die than set foot in Worthington's home!" Eric stood abruptly and led her away from the park, towards an upscale apartment complex. His skin began to crawl at the thought that Mystique, his Mystique had spent time with that fluttering little traitor. How easily she forgot that it was the Worthington family that developed the cure in the first place!

He knew that he was becoming irrational- a cure could have been developed by anyone, anywhere, but he still hated the thought of her with that young millionaire. In fact, the thought sickened him with anger. If he'd had his power, the cars around them would be flying!

As it was, Mystique followed a half step behind him as she always had, but always keeping pace. He'd missed her so much in the last few weeks- the isolation that he'd encased himself in had long since began to eat away at him. Perhaps it was the longing for others hat had drawn him to the park for chess- even though he rarely spoke with anyone and only played the game with himself, he still wished to see and be seen; it was perverse, he knew, but he could not help himself.

They made their way up to his floor and he led her into his apartment- rented under one of his several aliases. The high-rise was very nice, though smaller than Warren's. The furniture was in good taste and the area was clean- she felt comfortable.

"Have a seat, I'll make you some tea," he said quickly. Eric felt awkward, and didn't know how he could begin to explain himself- why he'd been so rough as to practically force her on their first and last night together, why he'd tried to lie in that brief note and say that he didn't love her…

He moved to the kitchen and set about preparing the tea and some food for her, desperate to simply busy his hands. He stopped short when he saw her standing in the doorway, a coy smile on her face. "Eric, please stop that. You're acting like we've only just met- have your forgotten all our years?"

He put down the kettle. "No."

She moved closer, the coy smile spreading on her face, her entire demeanor effortlessly arousing him with her inherent seductive power. "You haven't forgotten me?"

"No, never." There was pain in his voice, but Mystique chose to ignore it.

Her hands smoothed over his chest and shoulders, her body pressed to his, their mouths close enough to touch, but she held back just long enough to look into his eyes. "You haven't forgotten how you left me?"

He reached to her, brought his hand to touch her cheek. "Raven, please forgive what I did to you-"

"Don't call me _that!"_

Without warning, the green eyes that held his flashed golden, and with one swift movement, she impaled him with the weapon that she'd brought along with her. There had been doubt in the back of her mind of whether or not she should use it on him, but at once her heart took to no qualm in sliding the sharp, thin metal between his ribs.

Her face remained impassive as Eric lurched to the floor below her, his cry of surprise stifled by the power of the pain wracking his body. As he laid at her feet, he was able to lift his head and look into her cold reptile eyes. She smiled in triumph.


	15. Chapter 15

Warren strode into the offices of Worthington Enterprises, ignoring the piqued interest of his employees. True, he hadn't been seen in the office often, but he easily adopted the commanding presence needed to maintain his position as not only the company's chief shareholder, but also as the company's soon-to-be president. He didn't mind the looks of interest, no one would dareutter an insultabout his mutation, but all the same it would have been nice to be ignored for once.

He breezed past his father's secretary without a word. No words were needed. After all, she knew the golden rule of the company was to allow a Worthington free reign, especially the "heir to the throne", as it were. Warren stepped into his father's office and shut the door behind him. "Hey dad, what's up?"

Worthington senior had called him early that morning, asking him to come into the office to select new employees to head the company's interior departments. Warren had recognized the importance of his father's request: the employees selected today would reflect on his ability to find the best people to lead the family's company. Warren knew he had enough against him as it was with his visible mutation- few of their overseas partners thought much of mutants in places of power, but Warren knew he could overcome. For the sake of his family and the company's thousands of loyal employees, he would have to.

"All right son, I know you're on the up and up about our prospects. You have your favorites?" his father asked from behind a large oak desk. Warren handed his father the portfolio he'd put together, which included the employee resumes, photos and drug test results.

"Of course. I want Carter as the lab head, Mendez as the secondary…"

Warren went on to discuss business with his father for several more hours, till nearly noon. He didn't mind, and couldn't afford to appear ungrateful to his father, but he didn't want to be away from his apartment for much longer, his guests might begin to worry about where he was. He hadn't seen Raven about the place early that morning as he'd been dressing for the office and as for Pyro…well, Warren had nothing against him, but didn't look forward to walking in on him with the girl again.

He stepped out onto the roof and allowed his eyes to adjust to the bright sun. The air smelled hot and his flight senses came alive- he could "taste" the thermals and shifting winds. He glanced over and saw that he was not alone. A woman was standing near the edge railing of the building, looking out over the city. It was a wonderful view, even in the worst of weather.

Warren called out to her, "How's it look today?"

She turned to smile at him, "Beautiful as always!"

Warren, being of a naturally friendly nature, smiled back and walked over. The woman had a nice look to her, with lightly tanned skin and long ebony hair. Light brown eyes with a slight almond shape betrayed her to be of partial Asian descent. He came and stood beside her at the railing. "Hi, I'm Warren,"

She shook his hand, "Lana, nice to meet you. Did you have an interview earlier?" she asked, indicating his sharp business suit.

Warren hesitated- Lana didn't seem to know who he was, and it felt refreshing. Too often had he crossed paths with true gold-diggers, women (human _and_ mutant) who were happy to offer him plenty of sex in exchange for plenty of money. It had been an easy way to ease his insecurities when he was younger and under so much stress because of his responsibilities and mutation, but nowadays he looked for a woman of genuine intent- not easy to come by when one was a millionaire.

In the back of his mind, he wondered briefly if part of his attraction to Raven had been rooted in the fact that she had never seemed impressed with his wealth.

"An interview? Ah, no, I work here, I just came up for some air,"

"Well, this is the place for it, huh? God, look at this view! I can see everything and everyone…it's great,"

Warren raised an eyebrow and was about to ask, when suddenly he felt as if the floor had slipped out from under his feet! He lurched hard to the left, while Lana lurched hard to the right- too hard! Warren watched in horror as Lana threw her arms out, but overbalanced and went over the railing!

There was no time to think about anything else- Warren tore off his restrictive suit jacket and jumped over the railing after her. He felt the wind whip over his face and body as he fell into space; his wings ached to spread and catch the air, but Warren knew that if he so much as moved a feather it would slow his descent and he couldn't begin to fly until he'd caught Lana... his sharp eyes saw her as she fell, already with nearly 100 ft. between them, plummeting down towards the earth.

Lana was twisting in the air, struggling out of her own smart business jacket. Warren continued his fall, though his focus split between the need to catch her, and watching what Lana was trying to do while she was falling.

Suddenly, the jacket was off, and Lana let it go- the garment caught on a thermal wind and flew past Warren's head. He glanced back only a moment to watch as it blew back and brushed against the building's office window. Warren turned back to Lana and his eyes widened against the wind.

For a moment he thought that his mind was playing a trick on him, but it wasn't! Two large, billowy bursts of color sprang from her back- _wings!_ At first he had thought that he was seeing twin parachutes, so thin and wispy they seemed- he was vaguely reminded of a silk sheet- but as he watched her wings unfurl and catch the air, Warren realized- Lana was a mutant, gifted with the colorful wings of a butterfly!

His heart leapt- he'd not met another winged mutant, and now he'd just attempted to save one who had needed no saving at all! Warren opened his wings and flapped to gain altitude, though he kept Lana well in sight. He didn't know how to approach her, but he felt as if he'd just been struck by a thunderbolt- _a winged mutant!_

He wanted to know everything about her and her mutation- where she was from, when her wings had appeared, everything! Lana was several hundred feet below him, but he kept an eye on her as she flew. The colorful gossamer wings were not suited for the intense heights and speed that he enjoyed, but Warren appreciated their delicacy and angled his feathers to bring himself lower so that he was able to fly just alongside with her.

"Lana!" Lana jerked her head to look at him and her eyes bulged to see that, not only was he a fellow flying mutant, but also that he'd managed to catch up with her.

"So, I know this might be a little forward, but I was wondering if you'd like to grab a cup of coffee with me sometime?"

Shesmiled at him and Warren smiled back. It was an interesting start to an even more interesting day.

* * *

"Still the show-off, I see," John drawled as Alison clapped her hands and sent flashes of color into the air. She smiled at him and didn't deny his name-calling. She was showing off to a group of passing kids on the beach.

"Well of course I'm showing off!" she yelled above her audience's cheering. "Why else were we given these powers but to inflate our egos?"

John strolled along with her. "Good point. Here's a better one: we were given our powers because we're Homo Superior and-"

"Oh, blah, blah, blah, John! I know where've you been these past few years, you know. I know that you've been with Magneto. Don't get me wrong, I'm a mutant and proud- hell, do you know the real reason I left Xavier's?"

John hesitated. "What do you mean? You told me your family was moving,"

Alison shrugged, "Well, that's half of it. There's always more to it…ok, remember how they set up those rules where the school outings couldn't be co-ed until junior year?"

John nodded, "Yeah, I was always dying to hang out with you outside of school, the wait was killing me!"

"It killed me too, I guess we've been making up for lost time, huh? Anyway, I was out with some of my girlfriends- Ms. Grey was leading us. We had gone to a museum and were walking back to the subway when we stopped on a corner and asked her for some Cokes, it was boiling hot that day and we were dying of thirst!"

John slipped an arm around her waist. "Yeah, and?"

"Well, she agreed, so long as we stuck together while she went in to buy drinks for us. I didn't mean for it to happen, I just kind of reacted…"

"What happened?"

"Ok, it wasn't the coolest thing to just be hanging around on a street corner, right? So I started doing this to pass the time," Alison flared three bright balls of color and began to juggle. "I mean, I wasn't hurting anyone, I was just a dumb bored kid trying to show off my juggling skills to my girlfriends, it wasn't even about showing off my powers!"

John nudged her shoulder, "You never thought much of that 'hide your powers' rule, did you?"

"Hell no! I was just tossing the colors around when this crazy guy came out of nowhere and started grabbing at me! I got scared, what girl wouldn't? So, to get him away from me, I shot sparks into his eyes. It was enough of a shock that he let go of me andstarted to stagger back- but he tripped into the street. A driver saw what was happening and he swerved, hitting another car, which hit another…"

John raised his eyebrows, "I guess it's a good thing I wasn't there after all, I promise you that if I'd been there and anyone so much as laid a finger on you, they'd be breathing from a tube for the rest of their lives!" he growled angrily.

Alison kissed his neck, "Wow, you're so sweet! Anyway, everything happened kind of fast, and by the time Ms. Grey came out with our sodas, about five cars were totaled. After that Xavier decided that it might be a good idea to leave,"

"Why? It wasn't your fault!"

"Well, I had been using my powers in public, and I guess flaring my lights at that guy wasn't really a reflex so much as angry self-defense, but his eyes were damaged after what I'd done- I don't think he went blind, but nearly so-"

"Who cares? None of that was your fault!"

"I know that and you know that and I'm sure that Xavier knew it too, but it hardly matters now, does it? My dad got that job and I would have had to move withmy familyanyway. Doesn't matter to me, now that I've found you again," she said, kissing him squarely on the mouth.

John nuzzled her neck, "Careful, Dazzler, we're in public,"

A toss of wild blonde hair, "That never stopped you from using _your_ powers, Pyro,"

"That's not what I meant and you know it,"

Alison's blue eyes locked to his. "John…I don't want this to end when my family's vacation does,"

John narrowed his eyes, "What do you- what the hell!"

They each fell, tumbling in the salty sand as the earth rocked under their feet. John moved up to his hands and knees in time to see the San Francisco skyline rock. Car alarms exploded into the air around them as the ground shook. He glanced at Alison and took her hand into his own. "Earthquake?"

"I guess so. We're probably safe, I think. Open air, nothing can fall on us…" John squinted as he saw the damage done to the boardwalk storefronts and the cars lining the parking lots. He then glanced over Alison's bent head and saw the ocean begin to rise.

"Hey, Ali I think it's time we took off, that's a tidal wave about to break,"

Alison glanced back and, several hundred feet into the water, she could see the rising wave. She knew that by the time it reached the shore, it could crush them! She glanced around and watched the other beach patrons stand from the sand and retreat away from the shore.

"I think you're right, let's book!"

John took Alison's hand and they tore from the beach, running over the boardwalk and not stopping until they'd gotten past the shops. Glancing back, they could see great splashes of water as the wave crashed over the beach. He shrugged. It didn't seem such a tsunami now; he doubted that, short of a lot of property damage, the wave hadn't caused too much trouble for anyone.

"Well John, that was my first earthquake, what about you?"

"Same here…" he didn't know why, but suddenly he had a very deep, very uneasy feeling in the pit of his gut. "Hey, Ali, come with me back to the penthouse,"

The blonde's eyes shined at him, "Don't tell me you've just been turned on by the earthquake!"

He raised an eyebrow, "Ha-ha, no! I don't need an earthquake to be turned on by you, Dazzler, I just…I don't know, I want to check in with my roommates really quick, just to make sure they're all right."

Alison nodded, "Ok, no problem. When we get there, I'm going to call my parents and sister to be sure they're all right too."

The uneasy tension in John's stomach didn't ease in the slightest, but he took Alison's hand and led her through the disrupted city, urgent to see Mystique. He couldn't explain why, but he had a strange hunch that she was behind the whole thing.

* * *

Eric's body convulsed on the floor as awareness of the world came back to him in a painful, wild rush. He groaned as power returned, and he felt a swelling of joy surge through his chest. He was born again- Magneto!

Mystique stood over his trembling form on the floor, smiling once she saw the realization reach his eyes. She knelt beside him and pulled the now empty syringe from his side. She tossed it away and allowed him to rest his head in her lap. "I'm sorry, Eric. The reversal is even more painful than the cure, but…you're _you_ again…"

He coughed and struggled to stand up. His eyes held a sense of awe as he looked upon her near-forgotten form. She stood up with him, a beautiful dragon- the bright flame of scales upon her head, her sunrise eyes and her intricately patterned skin. Beautiful, the fierce warrior he'd molded over the years. The thought hit him hard.

"Mystique," he hated how raw his voice sounded. "How did you…?"

"As I said, Warren brought John and I here to find you, but his company has also developed this reversal process. I took it yesterday and I was able to sneak a few vials of it out of the lab with me. It feels amazing, doesn't it?" she breathed.

Eric closed his eyes and did indeed feel amazing- his power had returned to him all at once in a rush, he hadn't had to build up his strength as he had during the formative years of his mutation. He could feel the magnetic pulse of the world at his fingertips. "Yes, it most certainly does…"

Mystique smiled. "I think you might have caused a slight quake."

"What?"

"The ground shook while you were on the floor- maybe it was the disruption of the natural magnetic fields?"

Eric flexed his hands. "I believe that you're right. I- Mystique, thank you!"

As he'd felt the rush of his power return to him, so did he feel the rush of gratitude towards her for bringing him back to himself. He moved forward and brought his arms around her, grateful to feel the cool, slick scales beneath his hands. She returned the embrace to him, "I did it for both of us, Eric."

"I'm so sorry for everything, why didn't you kill me? It would have been easy,"

Mystique shook her head. "I haven't forgotten all our years. I couldn't kill you, the world wouldn't be the same."

"Please forgive me, the way I used you was-"

Mystique cut in, "Yes, it was horrible, Eric. I was used and discarded, hurt and above all, I was betrayed. That's why I went to _them_ and told all about the meeting of the greater Brotherhood. We've betrayed each other, let's leave it at that."

He took her hands into his own, "I'm sorry."

Her smile was genuine, "I know you are Eric, that's why you'll be spending plenty of time making it up to me, right?"

He laughed, for the first time in ages, "Of course."

"It's a new day, Eric. For now, the fight between humans and mutants has settled down- peacetime, that's what Pyro's calling it, if there even is such a thing. Mutants are the evolutionary superior to humans, I've always known it, but Eric if you still want us to fight by your side, we must find some kind of middle ground."

"You're starting to sound like Charles,"

"No. I just feel…wiser now. I want a world where mutants no longer live in fear, you know I do. I'd do anything to walk down the street in my real body, but that change in the world will take time. I'll do whatever it takes, I've proved that to you…but for right now, can we just enjoy the peace?"

Eric slipped an arm around her. "Nothing would please me more."


End file.
